Rating: 5/5
No. of Pages: Audio (176)
Published: 2006
From the back: Brooklyn, 1875. Bird Mallon lives on Water Street, where you can see the great towers of the Brooklyn Bridge being built.
Bird wants nothing more in life than to be brave enough to be a healer, like her mother, Nory; to help her sister Annie find love; and to convince her brother, Hughie, to stop fighting for money with his street gang. And of course, she wishes that a girl would move into the empty apartment upstairs so that she could have a friend close by.
But Thomas Neary and his father move in upstairs. Thomas, who writes about his life in his journal – about Pop, who spends each night at a bar; about the mother he wishes he had; and about the Mallon family downstairs, which he desperately wants to be part of. Thomas, who has a secret that only Bird suspects, and who turns out to be the best friend she could ever have.

Mine: What a wonderful period story and the building of the Brooklyn Bridge. It must have been such an exciting time to watch the bridge being built. The times were so different and what was expected. It tells the story of 2 children who become friends and protect each other from the evils of what may be.

What a nice way to hear about how the city was buzzing about the new bridge and how it affected all the levels of the city. Nory the midwife and healer, Annie the box maker and a wonderful baker, Hughie here brother becomes hard after getting the bends after going down in the water to help with the bridge.

From the inside cover: When Rabbit and Badger adopt a lost baby owl, they don’t realize how challenging it will be to look after him – especially when his downy white feathers help him disappear in the snow!

Rabbit creates a Christmas surprise for Little Owl that will make finding him easier. But danger lurks in the woods, and Rabbit and Badger are not the only ones who see Little Owl more clearly in his new red hat….

Mine: Beautifully illustrated book with textured pages. What a wonderful story about how we all need to take care of each other in this world. So that owl could be found in the snow (since he is a snow owl – white). Rabbit makes him a red hat so that he can be spotted when he’s out in the snow.

Unfortunately the Red Fox can see the owl. Everyone is shouting – “take the hat off” when he does the fox walks right by. Owl finds a new wonderful use for his red hat – a nice bed to sleep in.

From the inside cover: Children will delight in following Lizard as he romps through this new version of the traditional carol The Twelve Days of Christmas. The festivities of the holiday come to life as kids count and sing along with Lizard while he sneaks candy from six swaying piñatas, swirls with seven dancers, and is lassoed by one of the eight cowpokes twirling. Pared with vibrant illustrations, Twelve Lizards Leaping is destine to become a classic sing-along.

Mine: Great illustrations and what a wonderful take on the time honor song of “The Twelve Days of Christmas”. It’s cute to have a southwestern spin on it. Prickly Pears, A Quail in a Paloverde tree, horned toads, silver spurs, turquoise rings, piñatas, dancers, cowpokes, luminaries, tamales, coyotes, and finally twelve Lizards leaping.

From the back: what this book is about….Old, New, Red, Blue ! Old Cars. New Cars. Red Cars. Blue Cars. Cars, cars, cars!

Mine: My youngest nephew is sorting through his early books. He’s going to donate them to the local used book store, but in the mean time we are going to try to read them before they go. I love reading with my nephews

What a cute story about all the different cars. He’s a big Cars (the movie) fan.

From the inside cover: When a tiny sea serpent tumbles from the bathtub faucet, a little girl finds an unexpected friend. As rainy day after rainy day passes, the two sing songs, take baths, and talk about the sea.
But little girls live on land, and a growing sea serpent needs wave upon wave of water.

Here’s a story about the true meaning of friendship, erfect for children, patrents, and anone one who has ever had a second thought about growing up.

Mine: A wonderfully illustrated book that talks about the true meaning of friendship between a girl and a sea serpent. The sea serpent needs the water and the little girl love to be sung to sleep at night.

The rainy keeps the little girl from returning the sea searpent to the sea, but finally she knows she must take him to his real home, before he grows too big.

Rating: 4/5
No. of Pages: 80
Published: 2006
From the back: Wild Cherry is feeling very sad. She wishes that she could dance but is too shy to ask for help. Then she has a misunderstanding with Pansy, the one fairy that could teach her.
So, when Pansy is in danger and it is up to Wild Cherry to help, will she be brave enough to save her? And will her wish ever be granted?

Mine: Wild Cherry wants to learn to dance like everyone else, but doesn’t know how. She knows there is one fairy that can help, but is too shy to ask for help. Pansy is so exciting about all the new things for the spring that she get caught up and doesn’t notice how fair she has gone into the other side of the fairy garden.

Wild Cherry must come to her rescue and save the day. Wild Cherry drops her petals as a distraction while Pansy runs away from the people come. When Pansy is finally safe she asks what she can do to repay Wild Cherry and the answer is to teach her to dance like the other flower fairies.

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

SUPPOSEDLY if you've seen over 85 films, you have no life. Mark the ones you've seen. There are 239 films on this list. Copy this list, go to your own blog, paste this as a post. Then, put x's next to the films you've seen, add them up, and change the header adding your number. Have fun.

( ) Lord of the Rings Fellowship of the Ring( ) Lord of the Rings The Two Towers( ) Lord of the Rings Return Of the King(X) Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark(X) Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom(X) Indiana Jones and the Last CrusadeTotal so far: 74

From the back: the Herdmans are the worst kids in the history of the world. They lie, steal, smoke cigars, swear, and hit little kids. So no one is prepared when this out-law family invades church one Sunday and decides to take over the annual Christmas pageant.
None of the Heardmans has ever heard the Christmas story before. Their interpretation of the tale – the Wise Men are a bunch of dirty spies and Herod needs a good beating – has a lot of people up in arms. But it will make this year’s pageant the most unusual anyone has seen and, just possibly, the best one ever.

Mine: It’s amazing how kids that know the story can interpret the story. Through the Herdmans innocent (well maybe not so innocent) eyes – the true story of the Christmas can come to light.